Update B13: "Archipelago States"

Captains! Update B13 will launch overnight on November 30th to December 1st.
Here’s an overview of the main changes:

NEW FACTIONS

This update introduces five factions, each with its own unique story and gameplay features:
- Three warring states (Antilia, Espaniol, Severia) fighting for dominance over the Archipelago.
- The Khanfar Caliphate: A neutral trading union that cannot capture cities or territories.
- Pirates: Hostile to all but offering high rewards for their risks.
- Additional details:
Each faction features its own heraldry, including flags and sails available to all its players.
- The mechanics for declaring wars and disputes will be removed. These will be refined in future seasons.

POST-UPDATE CHANGES
- All current guilds will be automatically assigned to factions based on their existing affiliations.
- For one week after the update, faction change penalties will be reduced, allowing players to redistribute themselves.
- Faction changes will function similarly to the current system but include a quick option to switch to an opposing faction for a reparations fee.

REPUTATION SYSTEM
- Players will now have three reputation bars, reflecting their standing with the main factions.
- Reputation changes based on actions (quests, sinkings) and affects health bar colors, even for neutral players.
- Guild members must maintain positive reputation with their faction; violations will result in expulsion.
- Pirates always have negative reputation and can act freely.
- Fortifications (towers, forts) will attack neutral players with hostile reputations.

FLAGS AND CITIES CHANGES
- Faction flags. Replacing military flags as the main PvP flags. They offer a 10% bonus to experience and loot and include tension-raising features.
- Black flags. Exclusively available for guildless players.
- False peace flags. Replacing trading flags, available to all, and no longer penalizing loot.
- No flags. Removes guild tags and limits visibility to fleets and trusted guilds. After 40 seconds under enemy towers, these players will be attacked.
- Merchants at sea can switch between faction flags, black flags, or "no flags."

PEACE FLAGS
- Peace flags now impose a 20% penalty on experience and loot for faction players.
- These flags are usable everywhere except the "danger zone" and increase mooring fees.
- More neutral cities will be added—small, unclaimable towns.
- Players entering enemy cities with PvE flags cannot switch to PvP flags.

PORT WATERS
- Mechanics like trade flag range, military patrol zones, and quest spawns will now depend on the concept of "port waters," referring to the seas surrounding cities.
- The mini-map will always show the player’s location within port waters or neutral zones.

SHIPBUILDING SCHOOLS
- Ship blueprints will align with faction history.
- Building ships in a faction city offers normal prices while building outside increases costs by 30%. Only trading ships can be built in Khanfar Caliphate ports.
- Military patrols will match nearby faction-specific ships and flags.

NEW GUILD MISSIONS
- Factions will now have missions linked to their focus:
Military factions: Combat missions.
Trading factions: Resource supply and crafting.
Pirates: Raids and sinkings.
- Combat marks purchased for conquest points will no longer affect ranking positions.

TITLES
- Each faction will have its own ranking system. Top guilds earn one of four titles, which convert into achievements and rewards at the season’s end.
- The leaderboard will display the status of the overall conflict between factions.

SEASONS AND VICTORY CONDITIONS
- Each season, the Empire will launch overwhelming attacks on cities, destroying them entirely. Guilds are rewarded for activity, rankings are reset, and the war begins anew.
- Seasons will feature unique events and economic modifiers.
- Victory is determined by city control, with factions earning points for maintaining territories.
- Factions with fewer cities will receive bonuses, and military factions have specific de jure cities offering more points.

TENSION AND PORT BATTLES
- Each guild can set only one attack window for all its cities, encouraging collective defenses and coordinated captures.
- Player limits, fortifications, and 24-hour city battle mechanics have been revised for larger 40v40 battles.
-Tension caused by shortages will now combine with military tension.

CITY DEVELOPMENT AND BONUSES
- Cities can now be leveled up through collective investments by faction guilds, unlocking bonuses.
- Upgraded cities offer better rewards but require greater investment.
- City resources will rotate slightly each season.
- “Frontline cities” will no longer exist; all cities can be fully upgraded.

TRIBUTE TAXATION
- Guilds can now choose to capture, abandon, or impose tribute on cities. - - Tribute imposes a penalty for seven days and redirects 50% of the city’s taxes to the guild.

MISCELLANEOUS
- Trusted guilds must confirm trust mutually.
- Black marks are replaced with the reputation system.
- Fleets will disband if they have only one member for seven consecutive days.

OTHER FIXES AND CHANGES
- Fixed persistent fog in Arena and Modes.
- Increased auction tax on rare items and dropped weapons.
- Adjusted city tax rates are slightly higher in neutral settlements.
- Imperial forts improved, bugs fixed, and rewards updated.
- Fixed city defense mechanics to prevent early activation during attack windows.

CONCLUSION
Update B13 is the foundation of a new structure for faction conflicts in the Archipelago. In the coming weeks and months, patches will bring additional content and mechanics to expand on this framework.